WEEKLY BULLETIN ON PLASTICS ENVIRONMENT AND RECYCLING

18 - 25 August, 2019 | Volume : 168

NATIONAL

Free meal in exchange of plastic waste in Chattisgarh - The Hindu

The Municipal Corporation of Ambikapur, in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, in a bid to spread awareness of curbing plastic use, feed the homeless and ragpickers, and empower poor women, is going to open the cafe soon. While a kg of waste will fetch one a full meal, half a kg will get one a breakfast. One needs to go to the segregation unit near the Ambikapur bus stand, get the waste weighed, receive a coupon and relish an Indian thali at the garbage cafe on the opposite side of the road.

Railway bans single-use plastic from October 2 – The Times of India

The Indian Railways has decided to ban the usage of plastics below 50 microns, in its premises and trains, effective from October 2.As part of this move, the Railway Board has directed Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the catering arm of Indian railways, to set up plastic bottle crushing machines at all major stations expeditiously.

Use of plastics banned in Parliament complex- The Hindustan Times

The Lok Sabha Secretariat said it has banned the use of non-reusable plastic water bottles and other plastic items within the Parliament complex. All officers and staff of the Secretariat and other allied agencies working in the Parliament House Complex have been asked to comply with the directions, the secretariat said in a statement. They have also been advised to use environment friendly biodegradable bags and other material, it added.

Dairy co-ops asked to halve plastic use – The Hindu

A senior government official on Wednesday requested cooperative milk federations and private dairies to halve their use of plastic before October 2, when the country observes the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Chairing a meeting of top officials of State cooperative dairy federations and private dairies, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Secretary Atul Chaturvedi said the dairy industry should strive to cut plastic use at least by half by October 2.

Country’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering Technology– The Indian Express

Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya said that Gujarat will get the country’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (CICET) at Vatva or Surat. Describing Gujarat as a hub of the chemical industry, Mandiya said that Vapi, Ankleshwar and Vatva have a significant presence of chemical industries. “Gujarat will get the country’s first CICET which will be set up either in Vatva or Surat. It will be built on the lines of Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET). The aim is to facilitate the chemical industry with research and innovations,” the minister said.

AP- NGT panel report on management of solid waste by month-end- The Hindu

The Andhra Pradesh State-level Committee on the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016, will submit a consolidated report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by August-end, documenting the existing practices and management of solid waste in the urban bodies across the State. The committee was constituted by the NGT.

15% tax rebate for housing societies that process waste- The Times of India

The BMC commissioner has cleared a proposal to give 15% tax rebate on property tax for housing societies for segregating and processing wet waste on premises, disposing dry waste through recyclers and using harvested rainwater and recycled grey water. The proposal will soon be tabled before the BMC standing committee for approval.

Tax sop fails to make sweeping change in Kalyan- The HindustanTimes

Even after exempting five per cent on property tax for a year for residents living in housing societies with zero-waste, not a single society has taken advantage of the move, according to Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).“The exemption was introduced to encourage residents to dispose waste by segregating and processing it on their building premises,” said an official of solid waste management department, KDMC, on condition of anonymity. Residents, however, said they do not know how to carry out waste segregation and develop a processing unit inside their complexes.

As part of its efforts to develop Anand Vihar into a ‘model ward’ for solid waste management on the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) instructions, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Wednesday installed a 1000 kg ‘aerobic compost plant’ on Vikas Marg Extension Road. The plant will utilise biodegradable waste from 5,000 households in the area daily. This includes fruit and vegetable peels coming from household kitchens and horticulture waste such as leaves and twigs from parks.

UT seeks report on SWM from Chandigarh municipal corporation- The Times of India

The UT administration has sought a report on solid waste management and door-to-door garbage collection system from the Chandigarh municipal corporation. The move comes after the UT administrator V P Singh Badnore said that solid waste management is still a challenge before the administration. Recently, 13 UT villages were merged with the municipal corporation.

INTERNATIONAL

Everest region bans single-use plastic- The Hindustan Times

Single-use plastics have been banned in the Everest region to reduce the vast amounts of waste left by trekkers and mountaineers, Nepali authorities said. In addition to seeing a record number of climbers this year, a government-led cleaning initiative on Everest -- the world’s highest mountain -- also collected over 10 tonnes of trash. The new ban in Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, home to Mount Everest and several other snow-capped mountains, covers all plastic of less than 30 microns in thickness as well as drinks in plastic bottles, and will be effective from January.

Penang hopes to enforce single-use plastics ban by 2023

The local Penang island government is optimistic it can fully enforce the ban on single-use plastics within the next four years. Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the state government has made a commitment to ban single-use plastics from all government events and hopes to enforce it by 2023. The Penang state government introduced the “No Single Use Plastics” programme last year and started the awareness campaign in earnest this year.

New Edmonton garbage plan includes single-use plastic ban

The City of Edmonton released a new waste management system on Tuesday that’s designed to reverse a trend uncovered in an audit, where just over a third of what Edmontonians produce avoids going into the landfill. There will be a four-stream collection format that will have homeowners do more sorting before bins and bags go to the curb. The four categories; organics, seasonal yard waste, recycling and residual garbage, will be in place by the end of 2022 while the program is phased in.

BOBST introduces new high barrier flexible packaging solutions

BOBST and partners will present new high barrier flexible packaging solutions designed for recyclability. BOBST is leading the industry by joining forces with pioneering companies Dow, Brückner Maschinenbau, Hosokawa Alpine and Elba to present state-of-the-art solutions utilizing a new generation of polymers to achieve mono-material packaging designed for recyclability.

Tesco commits to banning brands with excessive plastic packaging

UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will ban brands that use excessive plastic packaging and remove excess packaging from its own-brand ranges. The move is a part of the second phase of Tesco’s Remove, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle plan. The retailer held four meetings with over 1,500 suppliers to outline its vision for the next stage of its packaging plan, informing suppliers that the size and suitability of packaging will be assessed from next year.

NWRA responds to proposed EPR legislation

The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) sent a letter to Udall and Lowenthal in response to the legislation. According to NWRA, the association believes the proposals outlined by Udall and Lowenthal will lead to more contamination and that Congress should focus on policy initiatives that would expand the domestic recycling market. “There are better ways to address the issue of reducing plastic waste pollution than by product stewardship or extended producer responsibility (EPR) financing schemes,” says Darrell Smith, president and CEO of NWRA.

Argentina startup recycles film plastics into gravel

Arqlite, an Argentina-based company aims to solve the global problem of packaging and hard-to-process plastics. Arqlite, which processes food packaging and film plastics into gravel that’s used in local construction and landscaping markets, is the co-winner of the New York City Curb-to-Market Challenge (CTMC). The company will receive an investment of $250,000 to build a facility in New York and will be advised by manufacturing entrepreneur and CTMC founder Chris Graff. By the end of 2019, Arqlite will open a large-scale facility in California, which will allow the company to expand from processing industrial plastics to postconsumer plastics from material recovery facilities (MRFs). Arqlite will charge MRFs a fee competitive with landfill tipping fees to recycle the plastics.

Reclaimer gets food-contact nod for Ocean Bound plastics

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter of no objection (LNO) to Envision, clearing the way for the company to sell its OceanBound plastic for food and drink packaging. Envision Plastics is the second-largest HDPE reclaimer in North America, after KW Plastics. Envision Plastics said it received the first FDA letter allowing litter recovered from coastal areas in developing countries to be recycled into food and drink packaging. The letter covers the recycling of clear/opaque food-grade HDPE milk, water and juice containers into food and drink packaging at up to 100% recycled content. Envision could include food-grade additives during the recycling process.